Latest Game Reviews

Soul Bubbles Review - DS

Since the release of the Nintendo DS, we have seen many puzzle games come and go. They have all tried to master the potential of the touch screen, and many (and we mean many) have failed miserably. Soul Bubbles is the latest puzzle game for Nintendo DS. Make bubbles, pop bubbles, get from A to B. With forty levels in eight worlds to fight your way through, and some fairly good reasons to replay each level, Soul Bubbles could be the puzzle game you are looking for on Nintendo DS.

Gameplay

Soul Bubbles follows a simple method. You have seven lost souls that you must guard and protect by creating a bubble for them to travel safely in from one side of the level to another. You are faced with many different kinds of evil ranging from birds that try to throw your souls into spikes, and frogs that try to eat them. It’s up to your fast stylus skills to master the use of your Shaman apprentice as you battle your way through the varying environments. With each new world comes new monsters and obstacles, and you’ll find yourself rushing against the time in order to get the best grade at the end of each level, but that’s not entirely what Soul Bubbles is about.

The game is mainly about getting from point A to point B, but there is also a certain level of exploration. Gamers will find themselves being greatly rewarded for finding all the hidden items known as Calabash in each level, and collecting the hundreds of pieces of stardust (like coins from Mario games) doesn’t hurt either. The game’s controls are fairly simple once you learn them, but if you don’t pay attention in the tutorial (or skip it, like we accidentally did), then you may find yourself getting a bit of a beating in the early levels. The truth of the game is that you can basically stun or kill any enemy by simply poking them with your stylus. This works great for early monsters, but later on you meet harder creatures that require some more complicated stylus actions.

Using the Shaman which appears whenever you touch the screen and push in a certain direction, you can blow your bubbles around wherever you want. It’s advised for most of the game (particularly the early levels) to keep all your lost souls in one bubble, but in some areas you have to squeeze through some tight spots that require smaller, or even no bubbles. Your souls can last for a few seconds outside of a bubble, but it is important to make sure you keep as many alive as possible or you will not be able to unlock the next world. Only the lost souls know the way to each new world, so by only saving one or two in each level, you may have to repeat them again to unlock the next area. ... (continued next page)